Shrimp & Grits – South Carolina

Jayne: When I think of iconic South Carolina food, I think of She-Crab soup, Carolina Gold rice, pulled pork BBQ (with SC mustard BBQ sauce) and Shrimp & Grits.  I love them all (except the mustard BBQ sauce).  These specialties are definitely Carolina, but Shrimp & Grits is clearly what people associate with the South Carolina low country, especially Charleston, if not more broadly, the South.  Shrimp & Grits indeed has become so popular, that it outvoted pulled pork BBQ in Garden & Gun’s 2011 Southern Foods Championship, in which readers voted for the most iconic southern dish.  Its rise is especially remarkable, given that shrimp were largely a regional, coastal, seasonal specialty through the 1970s. 

Over the years, Shrimp & Grits has moved from Native American porridge (the grits), to plantation kitchens with African American cooks (millet and shellfish from West Africa), to a fisherman’s simple breakfast (a “one pot”) to a mainstream menu item throughout the entire south.  Every cook puts her/his spin on it, but my Shrimp & Grits recipe is based on a classic recipe from a North Carolina cooking icon, the late Bill Neal.  Yes, I know he’s from North Carolina, but it was Bill Neal who spawned the dish all over the South.

Bill Neal is credited with elevating Shrimp & Grits to regional and national menus through his Crook’s Corner restaurant (Chapel Hill, NC), about 40 years ago, with a little help from Craig Claiborne, who was the Food Editor at the New York Times.  The story is that in 1985, Craig Claiborne visited Bill Neal while doing research on Southern food and subsequently published Neal’s recipe for Shrimp & Grits, from Neal’s cookbook Southern Cooking.  After that publicity, it didn’t take long for Neal’s kitchen to be producing over 10,000 dishes of Shrimp & Grits a year. 

Chefs who worked for Neal in his kitchen migrated throughout the South with their own takes (e.g., Robert Stehling, who opened Charleston’s Hominy Grill in the 1990’s), but many stayed true to the classic.  Namely, a puddle of cheese grits topped with a smokey “gravy” of butter or oil, mushrooms, bacon, garlic, scallions and fresh, pan-grilled shrimp.  A smattering of chopped parsley, dash of hot sauce and spritz of lemon rounds it all out.  

I recently made Shrimp & Grits to welcome my family to my Bald Head Island home, as we celebrated my mother’s life of 94 years.  She passed away last September, and she wanted us to celebrate her life, together as a family, at the beach, which she loved (she would have loved it more had I installed the motorized chair that chugged slowly up the stairway, but that was never going to happen). It was a lovely weekend with my family, lots of laughs and smiles, and fitting tribute to her remarkable life.

Grits —

Ingredients:

• 1 c. stone ground grits (not quick grits) (the best you can find – I use either Anson Mills or Moss)
• 4 ½ c. water
• 1 tsp salt (very important)
• Butter and/or ¼ – ¾ c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded roughly
• ¼ c. or so cream or whole milk (optional, to taste)
• Dash hot sauce (e.g., Texas Pete, Tabasco or Crystal)

Directions:

1. Bring the salted water to a boil in a saucepan. Slowly sift the grits through one hand into the water while stirring with the whisk in the other hand (you don’t want clumps). 
2. When all the grits have been added, continue stirring and reduce the heat to low until only an occasional bubble breaks the surface.  Continue cooking for about 30 – 40 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.  Don’t rush the cooking – they are best creamy with a little grain, which takes time. 
3. Beat in a good quantity of butter and/or cheese, and thin, if desired, with the cream or milk.  Add a dash or two of hot sauce. 
4. Remove from heat and set aside (stirring occasionally), while you make the Shrimp. 

Shrimp —

Ingredients:

• 4 – 6 thick slices of smoked bacon, cut into dice
• 2 Tbs canola oil (or butter)
• 1 lb. med/large shrimp, rinsed, peeled, deveined and pat dry
• ½ lb. button mushrooms, sliced (about 2 cups)
• 8 large scallions, thinly sliced (about a cup)
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Hot sauce (to taste)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
• Scant ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Extra lemon quarters for serving

Directions:

1. Saute bacon in large skillet until crisp.  Remove and place on plate with paper towel. 
2. Add canola oil or butter and heat 1 minute.  Add shrimp and don’t move for 3 minutes.  Flip and cook for 1 minute.  Remove from pan and set aside. 
3. Add mushrooms and saute for about 4 – 5 minutes or until they release their juice and it evaporates.  Add scallions and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes.  Add shrimp, bacon, lemon juice, hot sauce, salt, pepper and parsley and simmer until heated through.  Taste and adjust seasonings.
4. Puddle the grits on the plates.  Top with shrimp mixture.  Serve immediately. 
5. Serve with extra lemon quarters, hot sauce and salt & pepper. 

*A special thank you to the late Bill Neal and his cookbook Southern Cooking, and Jay Pierce with his Shrimp, a Savor the South cookbook.